Tilleys turn house into a home

The Tilley family say it was love at first sight after walking through the Sekisui House display home.

FIRST home buyers are taking full advantage of the $20,000 first home owners' grant at global property developer Sekisui House's Ecco Ripley community ahead of the expiry of the boosted offer at the end of June.

Zoe and Daniel Tilley are among many first home buyers at Ecco Ripley who have been assisted into the property market through the grant.

Moving from nearby Springfield Lakes, it was love at first sight for the Tilley's after walking through the Sekisui House display home. They secured the last lot in stage four only hours later that same day.

The Tilleys were fed up with the disruptions involved with renting and decided to take the leap into purchasing and building their first home with Sekisui House.

"The appeal of a brand new house with warranty, no nasty surprises and the ability to design the house exactly how you want it, everything from tiles through to colours, was something we couldn't pass up,” Mrs Tilley said.

"With the $20,000 first home owners' grant, we felt it would be the appropriate time to take the leap and enter the property market by purchasing our first family home.

"It's a great feeling to be free of regular real estate inspections and to really turn a house into a home, something that really isn't possible when renting.”

The State Government grant is expected to revert back to $15,000 at the end of June this year following a one-off boost to $20,000 announced in last year's Queensland Budget.

The Tilley's have capitalised on the anticipated growth of the masterplanned community after falling in love with Ecco Ripley's display home.

"After walking through the display home we were impressed with the kitchen and the amount of storage it had for quite a small space,” Mrs Tilley said.

"We loved the living and dining areas, because although they are designed to be open-plan they are somewhat separate which is exactly what we were looking for.

"It really is amazing how such a small space can be designed with ample storage solutions.”

The young couple moved into their home in mid-March with their two children, Ava aged six and Jasper, who is just six-months old.

"Ecco Ripley has been great, the community is very relaxed and family orientated, there are children riding their bikes down the street, people out watering their gardens, and numerous active residents walking their dogs and participating in regular fitness groups in the park,” said Mrs Tilley.

Purchasing and building your first home can be quite daunting, but the Tilleys said Sekisui House staff were with them every step of the way.

"From our first interaction with Stephen in the sales office, through to Alana handling our build, the whole team at Ecco Ripley was upfront, honest and showed genuine interest in our family and really personalised our home building journey,” Mrs Tilley said.

"We felt confident that this team would take care of us every step of the way.

"They were always available to take our calls and responded promptly to all correspondence with constant updates and advice.

"Ecco Ripley is a great family community with nice parks for the kids, perfectly positioned in the middle, not too close but not too far from all amenities.”